Anti-Microbial Medical Garments

ABSTRACT

Improved medical garments are disclosed which are fabricated from woven or warp knit fabrics impregnated with an anti-microbial agent, such as silver in the form of a silver chloride solution during processing, and a hydrophobic agent, such as a fluorocarbon polymer and optional cross-linking agent. The garments are provided in various forms of medical lab coats for doctors and non-doctors and for both males and females. The combination of the anti-microbial agent and the hydrophobic agent provides improved kill rates for bacteria such as MRSA.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

Improved medical garments such as lab coats and surgical scrubs aredisclosed that include antibacterial and/or antimicrobial properties forreducing the migration of bacteria and microbes in medical environmentssuch as hospitals, doctor offices, etc.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, the prevalence of nosocomial infections has causedserious implications for both patients and healthcare workers.Nosocomial infections are those that originate or occur in a hospital orlong-term care, hospital-like settings. In general nosocomial infectionsare more serious and dangerous than external, community-acquiredinfections because the pathogens in hospitals are more virulent andresistant to typical antibiotics. According to the Centers for DiseaseControl (CDC), nosocomial infections are responsible for about 100,000deaths in the United States per year. About 5% to 10% of Americanhospital patients (about 2 million per year) develop a clinicallysignificant nosocomial infection. These hospital-acquired infections(HAIs) are usually related to a procedure or treatment used to diagnoseor treat the patient's illness or injury. The average cost to treatthese serious, but avoidable, infections is about $30,000. Further,because many of these infections are avoidable, insurance companies andgovernment agencies are becoming reluctant to pay for such treatmentswhich could adversely affect the financial condition of many hospitalsand/or patients.

One cause of the spread of infections in hospitals and medicalfacilities is the common lab coat and other garments such as surgical“scrubs” worn by doctors and medical personnel. Over the course of ashift when a medical worker treats numerous patients with a variety ofailments, these garments can become contaminated with various bacteria,viruses, etc. and therefore become carriers of infection. It has beenshown that many viruses and bacteria can survive on an article ofclothing for up to six hours. Superbugs such as staphylococcus can liveon a polyester lab coat for up to 56 days. If the garments are notchanged repeatedly throughout the shift, patients can be accidentallyexposed to such bacteria and viruses. One specific problem is theexposure of vulnerable patients to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcusaureus (MRSA) as a result of contact with hospital staff and doctors.

For example, when doctors or nurses lean over the beds of patients whoare carrying organisms, their clothing can become contaminated withbacteria or a virus. Throughout the worker's shift, the bacteria orviruses can be alive and passed on to other patients through incidentalcontact. While hospitals continue to make process and proceduralimprovements in an effort to reduce the number of incidents resultingfrom bacterial cross-contamination from contaminated catheters and otherequipment, the issue of bacteria and viruses on clothing has largelybeen ignored.

The American Medical Association studied a proposal made at its annualmeeting in June of 2009 that doctors stop wearing lab coats altogether.This approach has at least two problems. First, doctors and medicalpersonnel need to wear some type of clothing, so substituting a lab coator nurses' uniform for another garment, such as a dress shirt, won'tsolve the problem of clothing carrying bacteria and viruses. Second, thelab coat is part of what identifies a doctor from other hospitalpersonnel, such as interns and medical students. Patients shareintimacies with doctors and doctors examine patients in a very intimatemanner. As a result, doctors feel that they need to look the part or, inother words, wear the traditional garment—the white lab coat, whileworking with patients.

Another garment worn by doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel aresurgical “scrubs.” Similar to the lab coats discussed above, dirtyscrubs can also spread bacteria and viruses to patients in the hospital.Further, it has been shown that hospital superbugs can escape intopublic places such as restaurants if hospital workers don't change orremove their scrubs or lab coats before leaving the hospital. As result,some hospitals now prohibit wearing scrubs outside the building, partlyin response to the rapid increase in an infection called clostridiumdifficile or “C. diff”. A national hospital survey released in Novemberof 2008 warns that clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections aresickening nearly half a million people a year in the U.S., more than sixtimes previous estimates.

Exacerbating these problems is that some medical personnel wear the sameunlaundered scrubs, lab coats or uniforms to work day after day.Therefore, they can start their shift already carrying germs such asC.diff, MRSA or drug-resistant enterococcus or staphylococcus (“staph”).Doctors' lab coats may be the dirtiest. At the University of Maryland,65% of medical personnel confess they change their lab coat less thanonce a week, even though they know it's contaminated. Fifteen percentadmit they change their lab coat less than once a month.

One effort at making antimicrobial textiles is underway in Europe wherethe University of Limerick announced the development of textiles whichwill kill the MRSA using nanomaterials on textiles used in hospitaldrapes, bed linens and upholstery. Certain nanomaterials, which are athousand times smaller than a human hair, are known to possessproperties that kill MRSA. However, this technology has not beendeveloped to the extent where it can be applied to clothing that needsto be laundered daily, such as lab coats and scrubs.

Yet another problem with the current lab coats worn by doctors is theoverall design and placement of the pockets. The pockets are not sizedor tailored to fit the tools doctors currently use, such as astethoscope, mobile phone, pager, etc. Specifically, there is no way toanchor a stethoscope to a lab coat, so doctors tend to drape them overtheir neck, which leaves them vulnerable to falling off and onto agerm-laden floor. Further, if a lab coat is dropped or falls to thefloor, the contents such as the pager and mobile phone are known to fallout of the pockets and onto the germ-laden floor. Also, for doctors whowear, neck ties, the tie can fall out of the coat and engage the patientor bed, thereby collecting germs in the process. Studies have shown thatneck ties worn by doctors are often germ-laden, and cleanedinfrequently. Therefore, the design of the current lab coat contributesto the spread of germs to stethoscopes, mobile phones, pagers, etc.

Therefore, there is a need for improved lab coats and surgical scrubsthat addresses these concerns.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

To address the problems discussed above, a medical garment is disclosedthat comprises a woven or warp knit fabric impregnated with ananti-microbial agent and a hydrophobic agent.

In a refinement, the anti-microbial agent comprises silver. In a furtherrefinement, the anti-microbial agent comprises silver chloride.

In another refinement, the anti-microbial agent comprises a silverchloride solution, wherein water is removed from the garment duringmanufacturing.

In another refinement, the hydrophobic agent comprises a fluorocarbonpolymer. In a further refinement, the hydrophobic agent comprises amixture of a fluorocarbon polymer and a cross-linking agent. In still afurther refinement, the cross-linking agent is an aliphatic isocyanate.

In another refinement, the hydrophobic agent comprises a mixture of afluorocarbon polymer and a polyisocyanate selected from the groupconsisting of blocked di-polyisocyanate, unblocked di-polyisocyanate,blocked tri-polyisocyanate, unblocked di-polyisocyanate and combinationsthereof.

In an embodiment, the woven or warp knit fabric comprises yarnscomprising polyester and cotton wherein the polyester is present in anamount ranging from about 40% to about 90% and the cotton is present inan amount ranging from about 10% to about 60%.

In another refinement, the woven or warp knit fabric comprises yamscomprising polyester having a denier value ranging from about 50 toabout 90.

In another refinement, the fabric comprises yarns consisting essentiallyof polyester, the anti-microbial agent comprises silver chloride and thehydrophobic agent comprises a fluorocarbon polymer and an aliphaticisocyanate cross-linker.

A method of fabricating a medical garment is also disclosed. The methodcomprises: providing a fabric; jet-dying the fabric while optionallyapplying an anti-microbial agent to the fabric; passing the fabricthrough a J-box while applying a hydrophobic agent, a cross-linkingagent and an anti-microbial agent if not applied during the jet-drying;drying the fabric; and framing the fabric.

In a refinement, the drying of the fabric after the application of thehydrophobic agent and the cross-linking agent is carried out at atemperature ranging from about 290° F. (143° C.) to about 300° F. (149°C.).

An improved medical garment is disclosed which comprises at least afront panel sewed to a back panel. The front panel is connected to astrip comprising opposing ends. Each opposing end is connected to thefront panel with a middle section disposed therebetween that is detachedfrom the front panel for receiving at least one earpiece of astethoscope. The medical garment further comprises a first pocketconnected to the front panel with an open top end and disposedvertically below the strip for receiving a sensor end of the stethoscopewhen at least one earpiece is received between the strip and the frontpanel. The medical garment also comprises a second pocket connected tothe front panel with an open top end for frictionally receiving a pager.

In a refinement, the medical garment further comprises a third pocketconnected to the front panel with an open top end for frictionallyreceiving a mobile phone. In another refinement, the medical garmentfurther comprises a fourth pocket connected to the front panel with anopen top end for frictionally receiving at least one writing instrument.Similarly, the medical garment may comprise a fifth pocket connected tothe front panel with an open top end for receiving personal effects.

In another refinement, the medical garment is a lab coat and theinterior of the lab coat includes at least one pocket and a strip orloop for holding a necktie within the coat.

In another refinement, the interiors of the disclosed lab coats includeone or more interior pockets, some of which may be closable, e.g.button, zipper, etc.

In another refinement, the medical garment may comprise sleevesconnected to the front and rear panels and a fabric used to fabricatethe front and rear panels and the sleeves. The fabric is impregnatedwith an anti-microbial agent and a hydrophobic agent.

In a further refinement, the hydrophobic agent is a combination ofRUCO-GUARD UCS® and RUCO-GUARD XCR®, the anti-microbial agent is silverchloride.

Other advantages and features will be apparent from the followingdetailed description when read in conjunction with the attacheddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the disclosed methods and garments,reference should be made to the embodiments illustrated in greaterdetail in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disclosed medical lab coat, designedfor males;

FIG. 2 is another disclosed medical lab coat for males with shortsleeves;

FIG. 3 is a disclosed medical lab coat for non-doctors such as internsand medical students;

FIG. 4 is another disclosed medical lab coat for non-doctors such asinterns and medical students;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the interior of the lab coat shown in FIG. 1,particularly illustrating four interior pockets and loop for securing aneck tie;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a disclosed medical lab coat, designedfor females;

FIG. 7 is another disclosed medical lab coat designed for females, withshort sleeves;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the interior of the medical lab coatillustrated in FIG. 6, particularly illustrating four interior pocketsand an elastic waist band;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a disclosed surgical scrub top; and

FIG. 10 is a flow chart that schematically illustrates the fabricatingprocess for the medical garments disclosed herein.

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scaleand that the disclosed embodiments are sometimes illustrateddiagrammatically and in partial views. In certain instances, detailswhich are not necessary for an understanding of the disclosed methodsand garments or which render other details difficult to perceive mayhave been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that thisdisclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments illustratedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Fabrics for the disclosed lab coats and surgical scrubs arepolyester/cotton blends for comfort and durability. One preferred blendis 65% polyester and 35% cotton, although the blends may range from apolyester:cotton ratio of about 35:65 to 100:0. The fabrics may be wovenor warp knit.

One suitable construction for lab coats is poplin. Poplin, also calledtabinet (or tabbinet), is a strong fabric in a plain weave, withcross-ribs that typically gives a corded surface. If the ribs are spacedfar apart the fabric might look and act like rip-stop, and if thecross-ribs are spaced close together, it might look like canvas. Poplinis most often associated with dress shirts and the like. The disclosedlab coats and scrubs made from this construction are easy to iron and donot wrinkle easily.

In one example suitable for lab coats, the individual yarns are apolyester/cotton intimate blend, meaning that each yarn or threadincludes both polyester and cotton. The polyester content can vary from40% to 90%, with one preferred polyester content being about the 65%.The cotton content may range for about 10% to about 60%, with onepreferred cotton content being about 35%. The fabric for the lab coatshould not be too heavy and may range from 4 to 7 ounces per squareyard, with one preferred fabric being about 5½ ounces per square yard.Again, poplin construction is preferred. Before shrinkage, the greige(or raw fabric) may be about 68 or 69 inches wide and, after finishing,the fabric is about 60 or 61 inches wide.

One suitable construction for surgical scrubs is twill. Twill is a typeof textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. This is doneby passing the weft thread over one or more warp threads and then undertwo or more warp threads and so on, with a “step” or offset between rowsto create the characteristic diagonal pattern. Because of thisstructure, twills generally drape well. In a twill weave, each weft orfilling yam floats across the warp yarns in a progression ofinterlacings to the right or left, forming a distinct diagonal line.This diagonal line is also known as a wale. A float is the portion of ayarn that crosses over two or more yarns from the opposite direction.

In an example suitable for scrubs, the individual yams are also apolyester/cotton intimate blend, meaning that each yarn or threadincludes both polyester and cotton. The polyester content can vary from40% to 90%, with one preferred polyester content being about the 65%.The cotton content may range for about 10% to about 60%, with onepreferred cotton content being about 35%. The fabric for the scrubsshould not be too heavy and may range from 3 to 6 ounces per squareyard, with one preferred fabric being about 4½ ounces per square yard.Again, twill construction is preferred. Before shrinkage, the greige maybe about 69 inches wide and, after finishing, about 60 or 61 incheswide.

In another example suitable for scrubs, the individual yarns are 100% 70denier (i.e., 70 g/9000 meters of fiber) textured polyester, althoughthe denier value may range from about 50 to about 90. This fabric shouldnot be too heavy and may range from 3 to 6 ounces per square yard, withone preferred embodiment being about 4½ ounces per square yard.

Twill construction is preferred. Before shrinkage, the greige may beabout 84 inches wide and, after finishing, the fabric is about 60 or 61inches wide.

For the woven textiles used to fabricate the lab coats and scrubsdisclosed herein, hydrophobic properties may be produced through use ofwater- or solvent-based fluorocarbon (FC) polymers. For example, EP-A-0325 918, which is incorporated by reference, describes preparationswhich consist of polyurethanes modified with perfluoroaliphatic groups,and which provide good water and oil repellency on textile substrateswith satisfactory wash durability. EP-A-314 944, also incorporated byreference, discloses FC polymers with polyethylene and modifiedpolysiloxanes. WO 99/14422, also incorporated by reference, describes awater repellent treatment that includes FC compounds in combination witha blocked isocyanate extender, which is a reaction product of apolyisocyanate, a diol and an isocyanate-blocking agent. EP 429983 A2,also incorporated by reference, describes a composition based on aperfluoroalkyl-containing polymer and an extender based on acationically modified polyurethane. Finally, US 2006/0151739, alsoincorporated by reference, discloses a water and oil repellent fortextiles that includes prior art FC polymers as described in thereferences listed above, a polyisocyanate blocked by a protecting groupand, in the case of aqueous preparations, an emulsifier. The FC-basedpreparations provide good water-repellent properties having highdurability to washing. One suitable FC product for use on the fabricsused for the lab coats and scrubs disclosed herein is RUCO-GUARD UCS®,sold by Rudolf GmbH of Germany.

To increase the ability of the garment to withstand washing and drycleaning, a suitable booster may be employed, preferably in the form ofan aromatic isocyanate cross-linking agent that has a relatively lowunblocking temperature and a much lower resistance to yellowing athigher curing temperatures and in subsequent exposure to UV-light, ozoneand various nitrogen oxides. One suitable booster is RUCO-GUARD XCR®,sold by Rudolf GmbH of Germany, which may be classified as a blockedaliphatic isocyanate with a minimum application temperature of 140° C.

Turning to the drawings, a disclosed lab coat 10 is fabricated from thetreated fabric disclosed above, which is preferably a polyester/cottonblend impregnated with silver chloride, a fluorocarbon polymer and analiphatic isocyanate, which is used as a cross-linking agent to increasethe durability of the fluorocarbon polymer. The lab coat 10 includes twofront panels 11, 12 connected to a rear panel (not shown) and twosleeves 13, 14. A strip 15 is connected to the front panel 11 andincludes two ends 16, 17 which are connected to the front panel 11leaving a mid portion 18 detached from the front panel 11 therebyforming a pocket or a loop which can be used to hold the earpieces 21,22 of a stethoscope 24. The sensor, i.e. the bell or the electronicdiaphragm of the stethoscope 24 can be accommodated in the pocket 25which is disposed vertically below the strip 15 as shown. The panel 11also includes a cell phone 29 pocket 26. Both pockets 25, 26 includeopen tops 27, 28 respectively.

The other front panel 12 includes another pocket 31 with an open top 32for accommodating writing instruments and yet another pocket 33 with anopen top 34 for accommodating personal effects. It will be noted thatthe pockets 31, 33 could be considered a single pocket with a line ofstitching 41 separating the pocket 31/33 into two compartments. Thepocket 35 also includes an open top 36 for personal effects. Finally,the pocket 37 also includes an open top 38 for frictionally receiving apager 39. While the lab coat 10 technically includes two front panels11, 12 that are buttoned together, while buttoned, the two panels 11, 12can be considered to be a single front panel, similar to the singlefront panel 111 of the scrubs 110 illustrated in FIG. 8.

Returning to FIG. 2, the medical lab coat 10 a includes the samefeatures as the lab coat 10 shown in FIG. 1, but with short sleeves 13a, 14 a. The remaining functional elements shown in FIG. 2 areessentially the same as those shown in FIG. 1 but are labeled with thesuffix “a”.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate lab coats 10 b, 10 c designed for non-doctorssuch as medical students and interns due to their shorter lengths.Because the functional elements shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are the same asthose shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, such elements have been labeled with thesame reference numerals followed by the suffixes “b” and “c”respectively.

Turning to FIG. 5, the interior of the lab coat 10 is illustrated whichincludes four pockets 45-48 and a loop 49 for holding a neck tie. Theloop 49 may be constructed similar to the loop 15 for holding ear pieces21, 22 of the stethoscope 24. Two of the pockets 45, 48 includeenclosures 50, 51 respectively such as zippers, buttons, hook and loopfasteners, etc.

FIGS. 6-8 disclose medical lab coats 10 d, 10 e, designed for females.The coats include the same functional features as those shown in FIGS.1-5 except for the addition of an elastic waist band 53 (FIG. 8) anddifferently tailored panels 11 d, 12 d.

Turning to FIG. 9, a surgical scrub top 110 is disclosed with shortsleeves 113, 114. The scrub 110 includes a strip 115 with two oppositeends 116, 117 that are attached to the front panel 111. A middle portion118 of the strip 115 is detached from the front panel 111 so it canreceive at least one of the earpieces 21, 22 of the stethoscope 24.Similar to the lab coats 10-10 e, the scrub 110 includes a lower pocket125 with an open top 127 for receiving the sensing end of thestethoscope 24. An additional pocket 135 is provided for personaleffects while the pocket 137 frictionally receives a pager 39. Writinginstruments or other cylinder instruments may be contained in the pocket131 and larger articles may be contained in the pocket 133.

One process for fabricating the scrubs 110 and lab coats 10-10 e isschematically illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 10. First, thefabric, either the polyester/cotton intimate blend used for the labcoats 10-10 e or the polyester fabric used to fabricate the scrubs 110is jet dyed which pre-shrinks the yams of the woven fabrics and bulksthe yams. An anti-microbial solution, such as a silver chloride solutionmay be added to the jet dyer. Optionally, the anti-microbial agent maybe added with the fluorocarbon polymer and aliphatic isocyanatecross-linking agent in the padding J-box. Between the jet dying and theJ-box, the fabric is dried. After the fluorocarbon polymer and aliphaticisocyanate cross-linking agent is added in the padding J-box, the fabricis dried again, preferably in an open width dryer. The fabric is thenframed and allowed to dry further before it is sent for cutting andfabrication or assembly into the lab coats 10-10 e and scrubs 110 shownin FIGS. 1-8. The dried fabric is treated in water after it is jet dyed.To treat the fabric, a 1 wt % concentration of AgCl is used along with 6wt % UCS and 1.5 wt % XCR. The fabric is the re-dried as shown in FIG.10 and framed.

Test Results:

1″×1″ fabric pieces were exposed to methicillin resistant staphylococcusaureus—MRSA (ATCC 33592). The presence of the MRSA was measured after 2,4, 8, and 24 hours.

Each experiment was repeated twice. Triton-X™, a hydrophilic surfactantwas added to ensure that the MRSA adhered to the fabric. The fabricpieces were exposed to the MRSA at 35-37° C. and at 70-80% humidity.

EXAMPLE 1 Untreated Poplin Fabric—Geometric Mean

T₀=5.89×10⁵ CFU/carrier

2 hour=5.62×10³ CFU/carrier

4 hour=7.08×10³ CFU/carrier

8 hour=3.63×10³ CFU/carrier

24 hour=1.82×10³ CFU/carrier

EXAMPLE 2 Poplin Treated with Silver Agent—Geometric Mean

T₀=5.62×10⁵ CFU/carrier

2 hour=8.32×10³ CFU/carrier (No reduction)

4 hour=4.47×10³ CFU/carrier (36.9% reduction)

8 hour=1.62×10³ CFU/carrier (55.4% reduction)

24 hour=6.61×10² CFU/carrier (63.7% reduction)

EXAMPLE 3 Poplin Treated with Silver and Hydrophobic Agents—GeometricMean

T₀=6.61×10⁵ CFU/carrier

2 hour=5.13×10³ CFU/carrier (8.7% reduction)

4 hour=1.95×10³ CFU/carrier (72.5% reduction)

8 hour=6.92×10² CFU/carrier (80.9% reduction)

24 hour=1.38×10² CFU/carrier (92.4% reduction)

As shown above, the novel combination of an anti-microbial agent in theform of silver in combination with a hydrophobic agent in the form of afluorocarbon polymer and aliphatic isocyanate cross-linker (Example 3)kills MRSA more effectively than silver alone (Example 2).

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The disclosed lab coats 10-10 e and scrubs 110 include both ananti-microbial agent as well as a hydrophobic agent which helps preservethe anti-microbial agent during multiple washings. The hydrophobic agentalso resists the accumulation of dirt stains during a shift so the labcoats 10-10 e and scrubs 110 look as clean as possible. As a result ofthe improved lab coats 10-10 e and scrubs 110, less bacteria and fewerviruses will be transmitted from medical workers to patients and viceversa, thereby saving lives.

Further, doctors, interns and medical students will greatly appreciatethe additional and more functional pockets and the more sanitary meansfor carrying the stethoscope 24.

While only certain embodiments have been set forth, alternatives andmodifications will be apparent from the above description to thoseskilled in the art. These and other alternatives are consideredequivalents and within the spirit and scope of this disclosure and theappended claims.

1. A medical garment comprising: a fabric impregnated with ananti-microbial agent, and a hydrophobic agent.
 2. The medical garment ofclaim 1 wherein the anti-microbial agent comprises silver.
 3. Themedical garment of claim 1 wherein the anti-microbial agent comprisessilver chloride.
 4. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein theanti-microbial agent comprises a silver chloride solution, wherein wateris removed from the garment during manufacturing.
 5. The medical garmentof claim 1 wherein the hydrophobic agent comprises a fluorocarbonpolymer.
 6. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein the hydrophobic agentcomprises a mixture of a fluorocarbon polymer and a cross-linking agent.7. The medical garment of claim 6 were in the cross-linking agent is analiphatic isocyanate.
 8. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein thehydrophobic agent comprises a mixture of a fluorocarbon polymer and apolyisocyanate selected from the group consisting of blockeddi-polyisocyanate, unblocked di-polyisocyanate, blockedtri-polyisocyanate, unblocked di-polyisocyanate and combinationsthereof.
 9. The medical garment of claim 1 wherein the fabric comprisesyams comprising polyester and cotton wherein the polyester is present inan amount ranging from about 40% to about 90% and the cotton is presentin an amount ranging from about 10% to about 60%.
 10. The medicalgarment of claim 1 wherein the fabric comprises yams comprisingpolyester having a denier value ranging from about 50 to about
 90. 11.The medical garment of claim 1 wherein the fabric or comprises yamscomprising polyester and cotton wherein the polyester is present in anamount ranging from about 40% to about 90% and the cotton is present inan amount ranging from about 10% to about 60%, the anti-microbial agentcomprises silver chloride and the hydrophobic agent comprises afluorocarbon polymer and an aliphatic isocyanate.
 12. The medicalgarment of claim 1 wherein the fabric comprises yams consistingessentially of polyester, the anti-microbial agent comprises silverchloride and the hydrophobic agent comprises a fluorocarbon polymer andan aliphatic isocyanate.
 13. A method of fabricating a medical garmentcomprising: providing a fabric; jet-dying the fabric while applying ananti-microbial agent to the fabric; drying the fabric; passing thefabric through a J-box while applying a hydrophobic agent and across-linking agent; drying the fabric; and framing the fabric.
 14. Themethod of claim 13 wherein the anti-microbial agent comprises a 20 wt %AgCl solution.
 15. The method of claim 13 wherein the drying of thefabric after the application of the hydrophobic agent and cross-linkingagent is carried out at a temperature ranging from about 290° to about300° F.
 16. A medical garment comprising: a front, a back and a pair ofsleeves, the front being connected to a strip comprising opposing ends,each opposing end is connected to the front with a middle sectiondisposed therebetween and detached from the front for receiving at leastone earpiece of a stethoscope, a first pocket connected to the frontpanel with an open top end and disposed vertically below the strip forreceiving a sensor end of the stethoscope, a second pocket connected tothe front panel with an open top end for frictionally receiving a pager.17. The medical garment of claim 15 further comprising a third pocketconnected to the front panel with an open top end for frictionallyreceiving a mobile phone.
 18. The medical garment of claim 16 furthercomprising a fourth pocket connected to the front panel with an open topend for frictionally receiving at least one writing instrument.
 19. Themedical garment of claim 17 further comprising a loop connected to aninterior of the front panel end for receiving an end of a neck tie. 20.The medical garment of claim 18 further comprising sleeves connected tothe front and rear panels and a fabric used to fabricate the front andrear panels and the sleeves and wherein the fabric is impregnated withan anti-microbial agent and a hydrophobic agent.
 21. The medical garmentof claim 19 wherein the hydrophobic agent is a combination of RUCO-GUARDUCS® and RUCO-GUARD XCR®, and the anti-microbial agent is silverchloride.
 22. The medical garment of claim 20 further comprising aplurality of interior pockets, at least one of which includes afastener.